The power of poetry to inspire emotion
To Petrarch's narrator, language can be used not only to express emotion but to awaken it in others. Consider Sonnet #101 ("Ways apt and new to sing of love I'd find), the narrator asserts in the first two lines that if he expressed love in just the right way, the object of his desire would respond emotionally. In Sonnet #131 ("I'd sing of love in such a novel fashion" or "I would sing of love in such a new way"), the narrator claims that his words would cause the hard-hearted woman who has rejected him to regret her decision. Both these sonnets imply that there's a magic word, or combination of words, that can inspire emotion strong enough to overcome another human being's restraint.
Ideal love
Laura (possibly the real-life Laura de Noves, whom he met for the first time in 1337 and who refused his amorous advances because she was married) has little contact with Petrarch's narrator. His passion for her is not based on physical contact between them, but on an abstract appreciation for her. The golden-haired woman (sonnet #157) is never directly quoted, nor is she described in much physical detail. Yet to Petrarch, she is perfect. In fact, the act of loving her exalts him and raises him to a higher state of being.
Light as beneficial and encouraging
Laura's eyes are variously described as "bright" and "shining", like stars or suns that dazzle the narrator but that also inspire and fascinate him. He associates with Laura all the things that are nurturing, beneficial, and constructive despite the fact she rejects him. Petrarch also uses light as a metaphor for spiritual and intellectual advancement.
Italy as a woman
In Sonnet #128 ("Italia Mia"), which is not one of the Laura sonnets, Petrarch mourns the damage done to Italy during what today would be described as a civil war. He compares the nation to a wounded woman; note that in Italian the words "Italy" and "country" are both feminine. He describes the land of Italy as a "benign and gentle mother". The association of earth and the female body reappear from time to time.
